WO2008018199A1

WO2008018199A1 - Pallet

Info

Publication number: WO2008018199A1
Application number: PCT/JP2007/056459
Authority: WO
Inventors: Kazunori Fujisawa
Original assignee: Kazunori Fujisawa
Priority date: 2006-08-10
Filing date: 2007-03-27
Publication date: 2008-02-14
Also published as: JPWO2008018199A1

Abstract

In case pallets of the same shape and size are arrayed so that they may be inspected with IC tags attached thereto, the IC tags on the pallets are prevented from overlapping each other, to ensure transmissions/receptions with the IC tags thereby to save and make efficient the inspection works. The pallet comprises a pallet body (3), in which an upper face plate (4) and a lower face plate (5) confront each other through a plurality of spaced beam portions (6, 7, 8) to leave fork inserting spaces (10, 10a) so that the pallet body (3) is formed into a contour having a flattened generally cubic or box shape, and a passive type UHF-band IC tag (2) having an IC chip and an antenna connected with the IC chip and using the UHF band as a communication frequency band. The UHF-band IC tag (2) is attached to the outer face of one of such right and left beam portions (6, 8) existing at one of the sides of the pallet body (3) as exclude the central beam portion (7).

Description

Specification

Norz

Technical field

[0001] The present invention relates to a pallet on which cargo is placed and used to transport the cargo. In particular, an IC tag is attached, and the type and quantity of the cargo to be transported are read by reading data recorded on the IC tag. It relates to a pallet that can be grasped and inspected.

Background art

[0002] In a distribution center of a manufacturer or a distribution center of a sales company, a pallet is used to carry containers such as cardboard boxes storing products and parts. Various containers are loaded on the pallet, and products and parts are shipped and delivered by being lifted and transferred by the fork of the forklift while the containers are loaded. In such a distribution center, it is necessary to inspect the type and quantity of products and parts shipped and delivered. For this reason, barcodes for identifying products and parts are affixed to the outer surface of each container, and individual barcode information is read by a barcode reader for inspection.

[0003] Patent Document 1 discloses a technology for sorting loaded cargo by pasting a barcode indicating the type of cargo loaded and the destination to the side of the pallet and reading the barcode with a barcode reader. Has been.

[0004] However, in inspection using barcodes, inspection personnel need to individually read the barcodes attached to containers and pallets, so inspection work takes a long time. Therefore, it is impossible to save labor in inspection work. In addition, the barcode needs to be changed according to the product or part to be transported, and it is necessary to change it every time the product or part is changed. On the other hand, in recent years, IC tags are affixed to the outer surface of containers, and IC tag information is read by a reader / writer to inspect products and parts in the containers.

[0005] An IC tag has a feature that it can write and read a lot of information on the type and number of products and parts. By using this feature, the following inspection can be performed. System becomes possible. In other words, the distribution center on the shipping side sends information about products and parts stored in one container to the IC tag, writes it on the IC tag, and then attaches the IC tag to the outer surface of the container before shipping. The information written in the tag is sent to the distribution center via the communication network. When the distribution center on the delivery side receives the container, it reads the IC tag attached to the outer surface of the container, and compares the read information with the information sent from the distribution center on the shipment side. Perform inspection. In such a system, it is possible to inspect products and parts in the container without having to read the barcode of each individual container, so that the inspection work can be performed efficiently.

[0006] By the way, in a physical distribution system that requires rapid processing of transactions, it is conceivable to apply a system more than inspection using an IC tag to a pallet on which containers are loaded. In other words, in this applied system, the IC tag is attached to a pallet on which a plurality of containers are loaded, not the IC tag attached to the outer surface of each container. By writing information as described above to the IC tag attached to the pallet and reading the written information, it is not necessary to access the IC tag of each individual container. By simply accessing the IC tag, the product and parts in the container loaded on the pallet can be grasped and inspected collectively based on the information from the IC tag.

FIG. 8 shows a pallet 100 on which an IC tag is attached in order to perform such inspection. The pallet 100 has a pallet body 105 on which a container (not shown) is placed, and an IC tag 200 is attached to the outer surface of the pallet body 105 by pasting.

[0008] The pallet body 105 has girder portions 106, 107 in the left and right portions and the central portion, and a flat cubic shape in which upper and lower side plates 110 and 120 are provided on the upper and lower portions of these girder portions 10 6, 107. It is molded into. A plurality of IC tags 200 are affixed to the outer surface of one pallet body 100, and the same information is written in the plurality of IC tags 200 affixed to one pallet body 105. At the time of inspection, it is also confirmed that all the information in the plurality of IC tags 200 attached to one pallet body 105 is the same.

[0009] Note that Patent Document 2 discloses a technique in which the orientation of a liquid container is made uniform by attaching an IC tag to a handle portion of the liquid container and receiving electromagnetic waves from an antenna of the IC tag. In Patent Document 3, an IC tag is attached to the surface of the seal that distinguishes the front and back sides, and the IC A technique for discriminating the front and back sides by causing a difference in communication state due to communication with a tag is disclosed. However, these technologies are different from those used for inspection of products and parts stored in containers loaded on pallets.

Patent Document 1: Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 2004-250062

Patent Document 2: Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2004-224470

Patent Document 2: Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 2006-53702

Disclosure of the invention

Problems to be solved by the invention

[0010] However, at the attachment position of the IC tag 200 as shown in FIG. 8, there is a problem that transmission and reception with the IC tag 200 cannot be performed when a plurality of pallets are arranged. This will be explained below.

[0011] The pallet 100 has been standardized to some extent in shape and size due to the efficiency of transportation and storage and ease of work. In addition, as the pallet 100, those having approximately the same size are used so that they can be arranged side by side for ease of work at the time of shipment and carry-in. For such a pallet 100, the IC tag 200 is affixed to the outer surface of the girder 107 of the central part of the pallet body 105 in consideration of the affixing workability.

[0012] Under these conditions, the left pallet 100 and the right pallet 100 are brought into contact with the side surface of the left pallet 100 and the side surface of the right pallet 100 facing each other, as indicated by arrow A. As shown in FIG. When the side surface 103 and the side surface 103 face each other in this way, the IC tags 200 attached to the girder 107 in the central portion of each pallet body 105 overlap each other. It is. That is, the hatched IC tags 200 in FIG. 8 overlap each other.

[0013] Then, since the IC tags 200 overlap each other as described above, the IC tags 200 are covered with each other. For this reason, a problem that the IC tag 200 cannot be transmitted / received occurs. In such a case, inspect before pallet 100 is lined up side by side, and then pallet 100 is aligned side by side, or pallet 100 that is aligned side by side is horizontally inspected. After that, it is necessary to arrange these again side by side. In these cases However, there is a limit in improving the workability of inspection because inspection cannot be performed in a side-by-side state where the pallets are aligned.

[0014] The present invention has been made in consideration of such conventional problems. Even when pallets of the same shape and the same size are aligned side by side, the IC tags of the pallets adjacent to each other are arranged. The purpose of this is to provide a pallet that can reliably transmit and receive with an IC tag and can improve inspection efficiency.

Means for solving the problem

[0015] In the pallet of the invention according to claim 1, the upper side plate and the lower side plate are opposed to each other via a plurality of spaced girder portions, and a space between the girder portions serves as an insertion space for the fork. The UHF band uses a UHF band as a communication frequency band, and has a pallet body formed in a substantially cubic or flat rectangular parallelepiped shape, an IC chip and an antenna connected to the IC chip. An IC tag, and the UHF band IC tag is attached to the outer surface of one of the left and right beam portions excluding the beam portion of the central portion of the plurality of beam portions existing on one side surface of the pallet body. It is characterized by being.

[0016] In the pallet of the invention according to claim 2, the upper side plate and the lower side plate are opposed to each other via a plurality of spaced girder parts, and a space between the girder parts is a fork insertion space. Passive UHF band IC that uses a UHF band as a communication frequency band, and has a pallet body that is formed in a substantially cubic or flat rectangular parallelepiped shape, and an IC chip and an antenna connected to the IC chip. And the UHF band IC tag is attached to a side surface other than the outer surface of the beam portion.

[0017] In the pallet of the invention according to claim 3, the upper side plate and the lower side plate are opposed to each other through a plurality of spaced girder parts, and a space between the girder parts serves as an insertion space for the fork. Passive UHF band that uses a UHF band as a communication frequency band, with a pallet body that has a flat outer shape or a substantially rectangular parallelepiped shape, and an IC chip and an antenna connected to the IC chip. An IC tag, and the UHF band IC tag is attached to one inner surface or both inner surfaces of the upper side plate or the lower side plate.

[0018] The invention according to claim 4 is the pallet according to claim 3, wherein The UHF band IC tag is attached to the inner surface of the lower side plate facing the upper side plate.

The invention's effect

[0019] According to the present invention, the IC tag is attached to the outer surface of one of the left and right beam portions of the pallet body. An IC tag can be attached to the side of the pallet body excluding the outer surface. Or it is attached to the inner surface of either one of the upper side plate or the lower side plate of the pallet body or the inner surface of both. As a result, even if pallets of the same shape and size are arranged side by side, IC tags do not overlap each other in pallets adjacent to each other. For this reason, transmission / reception with respect to the IC tag can be surely performed. Therefore, inspection can be performed with the pallets aligned side by side, and the efficiency of inspection work that does not require realignment can be improved. In addition, since the UHF band IC tag is used as the IC tag, the communication distance becomes long, and the work for bringing the pallet closer to the reader / writer at the time of inspection becomes unnecessary. As a result, the inspection work can be performed more efficiently.

Brief Description of Drawings

FIG. 1 is a perspective view showing a pallet according to a first embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a perspective view showing a state in which the pallets of the first embodiment are aligned.

FIG. 3 is a front view showing an example of a UHF band IC tag.

FIG. 4 is a perspective view showing the flow of pallets in a distribution center.

FIG. 5 is a perspective view showing a pallet according to a second embodiment.

FIG. 6 is a perspective view showing a pallet according to a third embodiment.

FIG. 7 is a perspective view showing a pallet according to a fourth embodiment.

FIG. 8 is a perspective view showing a conventional pallet.

Explanation of symbols

[0021] 1 palette

2 IC tag

3 《Lett body

4 Upper side plate 6, 7, 8 digits

10, 10a Fork insertion space

12 IC chip

13 Antenna

BEST MODE FOR CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION

[0022] The present invention will be specifically described below with reference to embodiments shown in the drawings.

1 to 3 show a first embodiment of the present invention, FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a pallet, FIG. 2 is a perspective view showing an operation of arranging the pallets side by side, and FIG. 3 is a front view of an IC tag 2. The pallet 1 of this embodiment includes a pallet body 3 and an IC tag 2 attached to the pallet body 3.

In the pallet body 3, the upper side plate 4 and the lower side plate 5 face each other, and these face plates 4, 5 are connected via a plurality of beam portions 6, 7, 8. The upper side plate 4 and the lower side plate 5 are formed with a number of slit-like or mesh-like drain holes 9. The pallet body 3 is entirely formed of a synthetic resin so that the outer shape is a substantially cubic or flat cuboid. In this embodiment, it is formed in a flat, substantially cubic outer shape. Thus, by making it a substantially cubic shape, it is possible to align the pallet bodies 3 in a side-by-side configuration with the side surfaces abutted. Note that the pallet body 3 can also be formed of aluminum or wood made of synthetic resin.

[0025] The girder parts 6, 7, and 8 that connect the upper and lower face plates 4 and 5 are provided on the front and rear and left and right side surfaces of the pallet body 3, respectively. It is the length of penetration. The girder part on one side of the pallet body 3 is composed of a girder part 7 in the center part and girder parts 6 and 8 in the left and right parts, between the girder part 6 on the left side and the girder part 7 in the middle part. Between the central beam portion 7 and the right beam portion 8, there are fork insertion spaces 10 and 10a into which forks such as forklifts and non-drifts (not shown) are inserted. Accordingly, the entire pallet 1 can be lifted by inserting the forks into the fork insertion spaces 10 and 10a and lifting the forks, thereby enabling the pallet 1 to be transported.

[0026] The IC tag 2 is attached to four side surfaces of the pallet body 3 by pasting.

4 The IC tag 2 attached to the side is filled with information such as the type, number, production lot, and other information of products and parts in containers such as cardboard boxes loaded on the pallet 1. The information is read.

[0027] The IC tag 2 on each side surface is attached to the outer surface of one of the left and right girder parts 6 and 8, excluding the girder part 7 in the central part. In this embodiment, the IC tag 2 is attached to the outer surface of the beam portion 6 located on the left side of each side surface of the pallet body 3. In this way, by attaching the IC tag 2 to either the left or right girder 6 or 8 excluding the central girder 7, the pallet 1 is aligned side by side by abutting the side of the pallet body 3. Even if it is done, the IC tag 2 will not overlap between adjacent pallets 1.

FIG. 2 shows a state in which pallets 1 having the same shape and the same dimensions are aligned side by side as indicated by an arrow A, and the side surfaces of adjacent pallets 1 are brought into contact with each other by forming the side by side. In other words, the left pallet 1 has its right side faced with the left side face 1 of the right pallet 1. In this embodiment, each pallet 1 has IC tag 2 attached to the outer surface of the left beam 6 so that the pallets 1 face each other as shown by hatching and chain lines even when they are aligned side by side. If the UC tag 2 does not exist on the side of the pallet body 3 of the pallet 1, the pallet body 1 overlaps at the location.

[0029] Even if the pallets 1 are arranged in this manner, the IC tags 2 on the side surfaces facing each other do not overlap, so that radio waves can be transmitted and received reliably, and all the IC tags 2 attached to the pallet 1 can be To communicate with each other. This makes it possible to inspect all products and parts in all containers loaded on pallet 1 with pallet 1 aligned, so there is no need to align after performing individual inspections. There is no need to shift pallet 1 for that. Therefore, the inspection work can be dramatically improved and labor can be saved.

[0030] As the IC tag 2, a UHF band IC tag is used in the present invention. FIG. 3 shows an example of the UHF band IC tag 2, which includes an IC chip 12 on a thin base sheet 11 and an antenna 13 connected to the IC chip 12. The antenna 13 is formed by printing conductive metal. This UHF band IC tag 2 has an adhesive applied to the entire surface of the base sheet 11. After peeling off the release paper 14, the adhesive surface (the surface on which the IC chip 12 and antenna 13 are formed) is placed on the side of the container body 3. Can be attached to the container body 3 by pasting. [0031] The UHF band IC tag is a tag that performs radio communication using the UHF band as the communication frequency band, and uses a band of less than 135KHZ and 13.56MHz band that uses electromagnetic induction with low frequency and small attenuation in space. IC tag used as a communication frequency band, and also communicates wirelessly. 2. Compared with 45 GHz band IC tag, communication distance is 3 to: longer than LOm. This simplifies the inspection structure at distribution centers in manufacturers and sales companies.

FIG. 4 shows an example of the inspection operation in the distribution center of the sales company. At the distribution center, a leader 'writer 21 for inspection is installed at the entrance or roof. The reader / writer 21 is connected to a monitor 22, and the monitor 22 displays the inspection result visually. The knot 1 is loaded with containers 25 containing products and is transported to the distribution center by truck 23. Then, the pallet 1 is unloaded from the truck 23 under the leader / writer 21 with the containers 25 loaded thereon, and arranged side by side in an aligned manner.

[0033] The pallet 1 loaded with the container 25 has a UHF band IC tag 2 capable of long-distance communication on its side even if it is away from the reader 'writer 21. The 21 can read the information reliably and perform inspection quickly. After this inspection, the forklift 27 of the forklift 27 is loaded into the forklift space 27, 10a (see FIG. 1) and then transported by the forklift 27. By using the UHF band IC tag 2 in this way, inspection in the aligned state of the pallet 1 and inspection at a place away from the reader 'writer 21 can be performed, so inspection work can be speeded up. .

In addition to the above, in the present invention, a passive UHF band IC tag is used as the IC tag. Nositive tags do not normally operate because they do not have a battery. In response to this, the antenna on the reader / writer 21 side transmits radio waves to the UHF band IC tag 2, and the tag 2 sends the radio waves to the rectifier circuit of the IC chip 12 and converts it to direct current. This direct current is used as energy. By using such a passive UHF band IC tag 2, there is no need to mount a battery, so there is an advantage that it can be used repeatedly for a long time. FIG. 5 shows a pallet 1A according to the second embodiment of the present invention. Also in this embodiment, the pallet body 3 of the pallet 1A is a flat and substantially cubic body, and the left side spar 6, the center spar 7, and the right spar 8 are provided on the four side surfaces thereof. The upper side plate 4 and the lower side plate 5 face each other through the girders 6, 7, and 8.

[0036] As the IC tag 2, a noisy UHF band IC tag is used. The IC tag 2 in this embodiment is attached to the side surface except the outer surface of the beam portions 6, 7, and 8. In other words, the IC tag 2 is attached to the side facing the fork insertion spaces 10 and 10a in the beam portions 6 and 7. As a result, even if the pallets 1A are aligned side by side so that the side surfaces of the IC tag 2 that cannot be exposed to the outside face each other, the IC tags 2 are mutually connected between the pallet bodies 3 in the adjacent pallet 1A. Do not overlap. Therefore, as in the first embodiment, the inspection work for the cargo loaded on the pallet 1A can be quickly and labor-saving. When the forks inserted into the fork insertion spaces 10 and 10a are made of metal, it is preferable that the IC tag 2 be separated from the forks by about 10 cm from the viewpoint of transmission and reception. Therefore, the width of the fork insertion spaces 10 and 10a is set to such an extent that the above-mentioned space is formed between the side surface of the girder portion to which the IC tag 2 is attached and the fork.

FIG. 6 shows a pallet 1B in the third embodiment of the present invention. In this embodiment, a passive UHF band IC tag 2 is attached to the central beam portion 7 and the left and right beam portions 6 and 8. In each girder 6, 7, and 8, the IC tag 2 is attached to the back side surface that is not attached to the outer surface. That is, the IC tag 2 is attached to the inner surface facing the inner side of the pallet body 3 in each of the girder parts 6, 7, 8.

[0038] By attaching the IC tag 2 to the inner surface of the girders 6, 7, and 8 as described above, the IC tag 2 can overlap between adjacent pallets 1B even if the pallets 1B are aligned side by side. And disappear. Therefore, inspection work for cargo loaded on the pallet 1B can be performed quickly and labor-saving. In addition, in this embodiment, the fork inserted from the fork insertion spaces 10 and 10a comes into contact with the IC tag 2 by attaching the IC tag 2 to the inner surface of the girders 6, 7, and 8. There is nothing to do. As a result, the IC tag 2 can be prevented from being damaged.

FIG. 7 shows a pallet 1C in the fourth embodiment of the present invention. In this embodiment, IC Tag 2 is attached to the inner surface of lower side plate 5 by pasting. That is, the IC tag 2 is attached to the inner surface of the lower side plate 5 facing the upper side plate 4. By being attached to the inner surface of the lower side plate 5, even if the pallets 1C are aligned side by side, the IC tags 2 do not overlap each other between adjacent pallets 1C. Therefore, the inspection work of the cargo loaded on the pallet 1C can be quickly and labor-saving.

[0040] In the pallet 1C of this embodiment, since the IC tag 2 is located in the fork insertion spaces 10, 10a, the corners (girder side) are slightly offset from the respective fork passages. It is preferably attached. The IC tag 2 can also be attached to the area including the drain hole 9 depending on its size. However, since the adhesive applied to the base sheet 11 has adhesive strength, the lower side plate It is possible to affix to 5 reliably. As the IC tag 2, a passive UHF band IC tag is used.

In this embodiment, the IC tag 2 may be attached to both the inner surface of the lower side plate 5 and the inner surface of the upper side plate 4. The IC tag 2 may be attached only to the inner surface of the upper side plate 4. . Even in these cases, in order to prevent contact with the fork and damage due to contact, it is preferable that the fork passage is attached to a position offset toward the girder side.

[0042] The present invention is not limited to the above embodiment, and various modifications can be made. In the above-described embodiment, the pallet body 3 may be a substantially rectangular parallelepiped having a substantially cubic shape. In addition, if products or parts on pallet 1 can be inspected with 1 or 2 UHF band IC tags 2, the corresponding number of UHF band IC tags 2 may be attached under the conditions described above. No need to attach UHF band IC tag 2 to all sides and inner surface of pallet body 3 Industrial applicability

[0043] The pallet of the present invention is suitable for use in a distribution system that distributes a large amount of products and parts because it can reliably transmit and receive to / from IC tags even when a plurality of pallets are arranged side by side.

Claims

The scope of the claims

[1] The upper side plate and the lower side plate are opposed to each other through a plurality of spaced girder parts, and a space for fork insertion is provided between the girder parts, so that the outer shape is a flat cube or a flat rectangular parallelepiped. The formed pallet body, an IC chip and an antenna connected to the IC chip, and a passive UHF band IC tag that uses the UHF band as a communication frequency band, the UHF band IC tag, Of the multiple girder parts on one side of the pallet body, except for the girder part in the center part, it is located on either side of the left and right parts and attached to the outer surface of the girder part. A featured pallet.

[2] The upper side plate and the lower side plate face each other through a plurality of spaced girder parts, and the space between the girder parts serves as a space for inserting a fork. The outer shape is a substantially cube or a substantially rectangular parallelepiped. A formed pallet body, an IC chip and a passive UHF band IC tag having an antenna connected to the IC chip and using a UHF band as a communication frequency band, wherein the UHF band IC tag is the digit A pallet characterized by being attached to the other side except for the outer surface.

[3] The upper side plate and the lower side plate face each other through a plurality of spaced girder parts, and the space between the girder parts is a fork insertion space, and the outer shape is a flat cube or a flat rectangular parallelepiped. A formed pallet body, an IC chip and an antenna connected to the IC chip, and a passive UHF band IC tag using a UHF band as a communication frequency band, the UHF band IC tag being the upper side A pallet characterized by being attached to the inner surface of one or both of the face plate and the lower side plate.

[4] The pallet as set forth in claim 3,

The pallet, wherein the UHF band IC tag is attached to an inner surface of the lower side plate facing the upper side plate.